Local health providers form joint communication team to respond to coronavirus

Mar. 23--Local officials and health care providers are working together to plan for the spread of coronavirus in our area.

Officials on Saturday started daily operations of the emergency operations center or EOC. Previously the group had met twice weekly.

Julie Gibbs serves as the leader and spokeswoman.

Other entities involved include Riley County Emergency Management, Riley County Emergency Medical Services, Riley County Police Department, the Manhattan city government and the Manhattan Fire Department. They've invited partners from Pottawatomie and Geary counties, Fort Riley, Kansas State University and local health care providers to insure cooperation and teamwork. Multiple daily meetings are ongoing.

"Working together to solve problems during emergencies is what we do here in Riley County and the region," said Pat Collins, Riley County Emergency Manager.

"We will continue to plan, prepare, and carry out the mission of protecting of our residents in these uncertain times. It is what we have trained for and what we have done during other emergencies, and this time we are calling on the community to help by doing their part too."

Public updates will be provided daily on KMAN radio at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Also, local health care providers have formed a central group to coordinate emergency plans in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In a letter to the editor, area doctors announced that several independent medical offices in Manhattan, including Ascension Via Christi Hospital, Manhattan Surgical Hospital, K-State's Lafene Health Center and the Riley County Health Department, discussed several times over the past week about how to best care for patients during the pandemic.

The letter said these efforts led to the formation of a COVID-19 Medical Provider Task Force, with additional representatives from each primary care office in the city, anesthesia and subspecialty groups, emergency room physicians, dental offices, K-State, Irwin Army Community Hospital and the Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community.

Doctors said they formed the group, led by Dr. Hank Doering and Dr. Matt Floersch, to sort through the vast and quickly-changing information regarding the virus and distribute that information to medical providers. It also will work with government agencies, as well as the Unified Command of the Riley County Emergency Operations Center, to plan response efforts.

Some of the topics discussed in the group include testing procedures and inventory of equipment and facility resources so it can address an individual group's needs if necessary.

"In the past several weeks we have witnessed extraordinary volatility in the health of our nation -- physically and emotionally," the letter said. "Know that your local health care providers and leaders are working diligently to keep Manhattan and the surrounding Flint Hills area in a position that we 'flatten the curve' and use our resources in the best way possible."

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